Strelitzia, favorite flower

[bje07]

I like this flower, setup: one flash directed to the ceiling, a diffuser as BG, white or black and reinforcement of white and black in LR

#1




# 1 bis with vignette as suggested by Mike




# 2



# 3 (reviewed)



#4 (reviewed)



#5



# 6



#6 bis An oversight, thanks Mike

[Wavelength]

You have done much justice to your favourite flower; very well done; i think this flower works only in close ups

[Mike Buckley]

The composition in the third one works best for me. I agree that the Bird of Paradise is a gorgeous flower and you have nicely done the blossom and leaves justice as Nandakumar mentioned.

When using a bright background, it's usually not important that the same tonality is used throughout except in special situations when that becomes important. Indeed, consider adding a subtle vignette to the first image to add a little interest and to increase concentration on the subject.

However, when a fundamentally black background is used, it's usually very important that it be a true black and that it is consistently one tonality throughout. A variety of distracting lighter tonalities are displayed to one extent or another in all of your black backgrounds. In the last one, a small leaf or similar object is displayed in the lower left corner. If you pay particular attention to the quality of your black backgrounds, you will take your images made that way to a higher level.

EDIT: One easy way to look for variation in tonality in a black background is to get immediately above your monitor and look down upon it. Variation that is otherwise not easily seen will become immediately apparent.

[bje07]

Thank you Nandakumar, you are right, with long stem it's not adequate to photography the whole plant.
(but I bought them from my local flower shop)

[bje07]

Thank you Mike,
I am always in a hurry to post before seeing and reviewing my possible defects.
We do not change, but I need
As I'm lazy I built a black BG, easy to get in LR (or PS), for sure if I use a piece of fabric, better will be the result.

[Wavelength]

Thank you Mike,
I am always in a hurry to post before seeing and reviewing my possible defects.
We do not change, but I need
.

Ditto

[DanK]

Nice set of captures. My preference would be 2 or 5.

I built a black BG, easy to get in LR (or PS), for sure if I use a piece of fabric, better will be the result.

Maybe. Unless there is no light reflecting from it, black backgrounds in macro work often show up partly as dark gray. I usually use a black background but often need to clean it up. The easiest (for me, anyway) is to create a selection based on color, clean up the edges if necessary, and then apply a levels adjustment to the selected area to make it pure black.

[Mike Buckley]

if I use a piece of fabric, better will be the result.

That depends on how reflective (shiny) it is and how much light is falling on it. You will still need to be just as careful when examining your photos and may need to make further adjustments during post-processing. If your masking skills are up to the task, a solid black background achieved only during post-processing will be at least as easy if not easier than including a black background in the physical scene.

EDIT: It's good to see the confirmation by Dan's information posted at the same time as mine that our experiences and suggestions are the same with regard to this issue.

[bje07]

That depends on how reflective (shiny) it is and how much light is falling on it. You will still need to be just as careful when examining your photos and may need to make further adjustments during post-processing. If your masking skills are up to the task, a solid black background achieved only during post-processing will be at least as easy if not easier than including a black background in the physical scene.

EDIT: It's good to see the confirmation by Dan's information posted at the same time as mine that our experiences and suggestions are the same with regard to this issue.

To be frank my black BG is a circular reflector/diffuser, so too small to cover my final framing. In that case external parts were very distracting.
I made a color selection and extend it to what I wanted to be black , but my brush forgot some areas.

Otherwise I can change the black BG to any texture and try to make it the most realistic.
Thank you both for this discussion which may help also other people.

[Shadowman]

Very nice.

[Mike Buckley]

my brush forgot some areas.

I've used similarly forgetful brushes. I can't figure out for the life of me why developers include those brushes in their software.

[bje07]

Thanks John

[marlunn]

Love the colours on these Jean, and where the flower head is sepeate from the leaves, I would be tempted to go in for a close up almost abstract shot of part of the head as well.

[bje07]

Thanks Mark, do you mean something like these ?

# 7



# 7 updated



# 8



and for the fun

# 9 I played with a beige cardboard and LR, still one flash on the ceiling (no crop)



# 9 updated (Mike you didn't precised clear or dark vignette, personally I chose the white one)

[Mike Buckley]

The last three are more compelling for me than any of the others and might very well be your best work of this style of photography. Consider darkening the bright, lower right corner of #7 so it doesn't pull our eye out of the frame. I would enjoy seeing a fairly strong vignette in #9 to bring its artistry up to the level of #7 and #8.

[bje07]

Thank you Mike for commenting, I am incorrigible (too fast!!)

[marlunn]

Jean, yep, fab. I love the close detail in #8 especially

[bje07]

Thank you Mark

[bje07]

To improve my pictures I use a small LED desk lamp above on the left, and a flash from LHS corner to enlight the bottom of the bud + a CPL to avoid eventual glares.
The structure of the flower is better enhanced. I added a small vignette (plain shot, no crop)
The leaf begins to show signs of fatigue

[Mike Buckley]

I like the composition, lighting and vignette. The grey background doesn't work for me because it doesn't complement the colors in the subject.